Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[Lizzie in Ma]

I'm reading the Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series after finishing her Mercedes Thompsons. The series were recommended by a friend who is also a Dresden Files fan. While technically in the same genre and quite enjoyable so far, they are no Dresden Files. On their own merit though, Mercedes is a highly likable character with a great supporting cast. Interestingly, the fae have "come out" to some extent in these books and the consequences are only just beginning to reverberate through as the werewolves also reveal themselves.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Lizzie in Ma

I'm reading the Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series after finishing her Mercedes Thompsons. The series were recommended by a friend who is also a Dresden Files fan. While technically in the same genre and quite enjoyable so far, they are no Dresden Files. On their own merit though, Mercedes is a highly likable character with a great supporting cast. Interestingly, the fae have "come out" to some extent in these books and the consequences are only just beginning to reverberate through as the werewolves also reveal themselves.

Thank God they are no Dresden files. I never made it past book 2 of the Dresden files and I love UF. I loved the first 3 (4?) of the Mercy Thompson series though.

[ChrisHoward]

I'm in the middle of Garth Nix's Sabriel (first in a fantasy series), and I'm plodding away at Count Zero by William Gibson (One of my all time favorite authors).

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by maggievnc

the story is about the life in Iceland around the beginning of the 20th century.

Hey, someone else who's read Laxness! I don't think I've read The Fish Can Sing, but I kind of liked World Light and Independent People* when I tried them way back during my Nordic authors phase.

Fun fact: Iceland has one of the highest per capita would-be author populations in the world. Apparently at least 30%+ of all Icelanders will at one point try their hand at writing and publishing something, even if it's only an article in a magazine.

* I should probably warn that IP is quite good, but very depressing.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Well, I'd have to say that Cindy Spencer Pape' Steam and Sorcery, that Victorian steampunk-with-magick kinda-mystery-ish romance which I bought and just finished, was worth 99 cents + tax, even if I wouldn't pay much more than that for any future sequels.

It was a pretty decent read, and better than I was expecting based on the freebie novella (which is actually a postquel rather than a prequel), even though there were some fairly silly and unsubtle elements.

For example, one of the villains behind the dastardly scheme is exactly the type of person I thought it would be, based on those zero-sum romance clichéd character personality rules mentioned upthread.

And the heroine at first seems to be a moderately ordinary person of moderately ordinary means, but turns out to

Spoiler:

have a highly advantageous hidden heritage and special talent which is of course key to resolving the matter and telegraphed multiple times, well in advance of the dénouement.

And of course there were the very special children with very special talents who thankfully lost their very special phonetically rendered speech defects very soon after coming into contact with the governess-heroine who tames them and wins their hearts with love and understanding due to her implacably sweet nature.

But aside from that, the characterization wasn't bad, and the children were reasonably likeable once they stopped behaving with disproportionately naughtiness so that the governess-heroine could look good by persuading them to stop sliding down bannisters and breaking the valuable ancient heirlooms of the titled lord who generously took them in. Which you'd think that precocious as they're supposed to be, they would have figured out to not do that already, if only not to get sent packing back to the streets.

And the mystery/adventure (one of those which-mysterious-group-is-behind-the-nefarious-plot types kind of like that first Gail Carriger book, rather than a straightforward whodunnit) was approached in a fairly decent manner, with some mild investigative work done (undercover to parties where Important Clues are dropped and whatnot).

And I admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how some of the romantic aspects unfolded. Based on the fact that Carina publishes mainly erotic romance as far as I can tell, and the contents of the previous novella, I was fully expecting half the book to be about how the two leads were either boinking each other, or fantasizing about how much they wanted to boink each other.

But no, the book actually unfolds the characters and setting and mystery/adventure bits first, so that other stuff doesn't seriously start until the 60% mark, after which they do spend about every other scene coupling like crazed ice weasels. So those activities only take up about 20% of the story, which is a rather nice ratio for a no-romo reader.

Medium recommend if you can get it cheap during the current sale, or in a future one. I consider it worth the money I paid (especially once I factor in supporting a publisher who's committed to DRM-free and giving out promo novellas), but I personally wouldn't consider it worth paying very much more than that, simply because deep down it's just not really my kind of thing* and the writing isn't outstanding enough to persuade me to make an exception.

But it was reasonably enjoyable nonetheless and I don't regret spending the money, and think I might be persuaded to try any future sequels at a similarly low promotional price, provided the samples read well.

* And I think it rather helps if you've always harboured a secret desire to read the paranormal porno version of Mary Poppins, because it was kind of like that, in a way.

LOL - well I grabbed both of them - and am hoping they're more like Gail Carriger than a paranormal porn version of Mary Poppins....

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

If I recall correctly there are a few John Levitt (Dog Days Urban Fantasy series) fans out here. I follow his blog via libraryjournal so noticed that his band had put out their first CD:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/procrastinitas

It won't surprise those who read the series that John is a musician; what did surprise me was the style of the band. I was expecting Jazz. There's some of that on the CD --sort of. Most of the songs mimics a sort of jazz, but it's kind of new-age ... or, my own term, "new-weird." It's always weirder though, when you're expecting one thing (jazz) and you get (something else.)

Of COURSE authors are only loosely related to characters they write about (if at all). So don't ask me why the album came as such a surprise. It's probably more my lack of stepping outside older music (I'm a traditional kind of gal: Moody Blues, Crosby Stills and Nash, Eagles, Bob Seger, some Bangels...) Yeah, showing my age, there.

Anyway, I found it *interesting* to listen to. Supposedly it is also on iTunes (I don't have any apple devices, so no idea of the link) and it may go up on Amazon's MP3 store or whatever that is.

The link I sent lets you get a pretty good idea of the flavor.

Thanks! Will definitely check this out. I'm hoarding the rest of the books in the series, I really don't want it to be finished!

Originally Posted by caleb72

We're like drug pushers - but at least this drug is good for you.

My nickname on another forum is "The Evil Enabler" because I've always got a book recommendation!

Originally Posted by Lizzie in Ma

I'm reading the Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series after finishing her Mercedes Thompsons. The series were recommended by a friend who is also a Dresden Files fan. While technically in the same genre and quite enjoyable so far, they are no Dresden Files. On their own merit though, Mercedes is a highly likable character with a great supporting cast. Interestingly, the fae have "come out" to some extent in these books and the consequences are only just beginning to reverberate through as the werewolves also reveal themselves.

These are on my TBR - I've read the first Mercedes Thompson and picked up these on the strength of my enjoyment of that.

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Thank God they are no Dresden files. I never made it past book 2 of the Dresden files and I love UF. I loved the first 3 (4?) of the Mercy Thompson series though.

LOL!! To each her own. I adore Dresden, and will be sitting at my computer with my finger hovering over the "buy" button on July 26th at 12:01 a.m. (which is when Ghost Story is being released to ebook). Dresden was my introduction to UF - and I've apparently never looked back. My UF collection of ebooks would rival my Cozy collection except that there aren't quite as many UF authors and the genre hasn't been around as long.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

LOL - well I grabbed both of them - and am hoping they're more like Gail Carriger than a paranormal porn version of Mary Poppins....



Thanks! Will definitely check this out. I'm hoarding the rest of the books in the series, I really don't want it to be finished!



My nickname on another forum is "The Evil Enabler" because I've always got a book recommendation!



These are on my TBR - I've read the first Mercedes Thompson and picked up these on the strength of my enjoyment of that.



LOL!! To each her own. I adore Dresden, and will be sitting at my computer with my finger hovering over the "buy" button on July 26th at 12:01 a.m. (which is when Ghost Story is being released to ebook). Dresden was my introduction to UF - and I've apparently never looked back. My UF collection of ebooks would rival my Cozy collection except that there aren't quite as many UF authors and the genre hasn't been around as long.

You might look up Ilona Andrews (Magic bites, bleeds, slays and so on). That series is probably my favorite (right now. I can be persuaded to read and love others. I am loyal only in that I buy all my favorites and gush over every single one of them.)

[DiapDealer]

I finished Robert Kroese's Mercury Falls. Hilarious. I was cackling out loud at times. It had a few problems towards the end when it forgot to be hilarious, but a renegade angel by the name of Galileo Mercury, a 37 year-old dickweed of an anti-christ living in his mother's attic, and a popular (some say satanic) YA fantasy series (starring a young wizard) more than made up for it. There were more than few giggles and snorts along the way, as this particular Apocalypse unfolded (or was bungled). Many of the cultural references seemed geared toward the over 40 crowd, so age could very well play a part in whether anyone else finds it funny or not. The jokes just seemed to fall right into my wheel-house.

Some notable short stories I recently read included "Creation" by Jeffrey Ford (as prevously mentioned), Aliette de Bodard's "The Jaguar House, In Shadow", "Eliot Wrote" by Nancy Kress, and Amal El-Mohtar's "The Green Book".

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

LOL - well I grabbed both of them - and am hoping they're more like Gail Carriger than a paranormal porn version of Mary Poppins....

Well, I'd say they compare moderately favourably if you think of them as Carriger-Xtra-Xtra-Lite.

A little like Soulless, where the couple-to-be are still spending much of the time panting and pawing at each other, only with slightly less of a sense of humour since instead of being tongue in cheek, the narrative seems to be seriously for serious about the heroine's apparent-disadvantages-that-turns-out-to-be-a-Good-Thing™ virtues and the Victorian social structures/gender relations (aside from letting girls make machines and wield swords, which it's fairly reasonable about).

And I don't know whether this would be considered a plus or not as far as your reading tastes go, but when I say that they couple like crazed ice weasels for 20% of the book, they really do couple like crazed ice weasels for 20% of the book. And it's rather… lovingly described.

But yeah, there's a reasonable amount of time spent on actually trying to find out whodunnit, so it's fairly decent in that regard.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

My nickname on another forum is "The Evil Enabler" because I've always got a book recommendation!

For every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction, and I am providing the counterbalance right now:

You have got to hie yourself over to Amazon's summer sale and get yourself a copy of Barbara Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night, which has been dropped to a dirt cheap 99 cents. (Sidebox says you have an iPad, so you can use the Kindle app if you're not going to strip and convert, yes? Or you could wait a bit to see if the other stores pricematch, since Amazon says the sale is valid until the 15th or so and maybe they're pulling from publisher promos already.)

I'm pretty sure I don't have to sell you on the quality and enjoyability of Hambly's writing since you've read her already, but I'm going to say that this is one of her very best books in any genre, and it's an awesome take on Victorian (okay, Edwardian) paranormal investigations involving finding out whodunnit when the apparent set of murders involves vampires-with-no-y. Plus it's got academics and redheads, though those are really only bonuses for my reading tastes.

Anyway, it is really and truly excellent and imaginative and well-researched, -thought-out, and -written and worth at least fivefold every single penny of the 99 cents plus tax you'd spend (and I shall be picking up my own copy as soon as I'm done typing this, which will make it the 3rd version I personally own).

It's a bit on the thriller-esque side and the sequels while still mostly very good, don't come nearly up to the same level, but I think you'll really enjoy the series, especially since you like amateur sleuth mysteries and paranormal fantasy.

And that has been my enabling deed for the day.

And once I'm done my 1-clicking, will be moving on to continue with Jim and Joyce Lavene's 2nd Renaissance Festival mystery, Ghastly Glass, which sees another craft apprenticeship turned murder investigation for our intrepid amateur sleuth. "Another year, another dead body", as the Amelia Peabody books would say.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

You might look up Ilona Andrews (Magic bites, bleeds, slays and so on). That series is probably my favorite (right now. I can be persuaded to read and love others. I am loyal only in that I buy all my favorites and gush over every single one of them.)

LOL! Yeah, I do the same thing. Right now I'm gushing over Kevin Hearne, but I am also an equal opportunity gusher. If I like it, I'll gush over it. I've got the Ilona Andrews series sitting in calibre, staring at me reproachfully, waiting on me to get time to read it.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Well, I'd say they compare moderately favourably if you think of them as Carriger-Xtra-Xtra-Lite.

A little like Soulless, where the couple-to-be are still spending much of the time panting and pawing at each other, only with slightly less of a sense of humour since instead of being tongue in cheek, the narrative seems to be seriously for serious about the heroine's apparent-disadvantages-that-turns-out-to-be-a-Good-Thing™ virtues and the Victorian social structures/gender relations (aside from letting girls make machines and wield swords, which it's fairly reasonable about).

And I don't know whether this would be considered a plus or not as far as your reading tastes go, but when I say that they couple like crazed ice weasels for 20% of the book, they really do couple like crazed ice weasels for 20% of the book. And it's rather… lovingly described.

But yeah, there's a reasonable amount of time spent on actually trying to find out whodunnit, so it's fairly decent in that regard.



For every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction, and I am providing the counterbalance right now:

You have got to hie yourself over to Amazon's summer sale and get yourself a copy of Barbara Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night, which has been dropped to a dirt cheap 99 cents. (Sidebox says you have an iPad, so you can use the Kindle app if you're not going to strip and convert, yes? Or you could wait a bit to see if the other stores pricematch, since Amazon says the sale is valid until the 15th or so and maybe they're pulling from publisher promos already.)

I'm pretty sure I don't have to sell you on the quality and enjoyability of Hambly's writing since you've read her already, but I'm going to say that this is one of her very best books in any genre, and it's an awesome take on Victorian (okay, Edwardian) paranormal investigations involving finding out whodunnit when the apparent set of murders involves vampires-with-no-y. Plus it's got academics and redheads, though those are really only bonuses for my reading tastes.

Anyway, it is really and truly excellent and imaginative and well-researched, -thought-out, and -written and worth at least fivefold every single penny of the 99 cents plus tax you'd spend (and I shall be picking up my own copy as soon as I'm done typing this, which will make it the 3rd version I personally own).

It's a bit on the thriller-esque side and the sequels while still mostly very good, don't come nearly up to the same level, but I think you'll really enjoy the series, especially since you like amateur sleuth mysteries and paranormal fantasy.

And that has been my enabling deed for the day.

And once I'm done my 1-clicking, will be moving on to continue with Jim and Joyce Lavene's 2nd Renaissance Festival mystery, Ghastly Glass, which sees another craft apprenticeship turned murder investigation for our intrepid amateur sleuth. "Another year, another dead body", as the Amelia Peabody books would say.

I have hied myself to Amazon and purchased the required book, LOL. I'll probably end up having to get the other two, as well, knowing myself and my OCD'ness about incomplete series. Having already read Ghastly Glass, all I can tell you is beware of insecurity. It abounds in that one...

[treid002]

I have just started the last Clive Cussler Oregon Files. I would like to some Dorothea Benton Frank books as my wife read a review of her books this weekend. If anyone has a copy of her work please post.

[DiapDealer]

If anyone has a copy of her work please post.

I'm assuming you mean "please post a review."

[Steve Anderson]

The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook. It's an historical espionage thriller about a rookie American attempt to stop WWII by assassinating Hitler, as told by the protagonist Danforth in 2001. It's an ARC for a review; the book's out this month.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Analog SF, July/August 2011, the latest issue.

Which was an average issue (and the average is good). For a change I'm reading the serial as it comes out. Wow, that's frustrating. By the time I'm back in the story again, the episode ends.

Next: Asimov's SF, July 2011, also the latest issue.

[Fbone]

Started Agatha H and the Airship City by the Foglios. My library was able to get me a copy by way of an inter-library loan.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

I have hied myself to Amazon and purchased the required book, LOL. I'll probably end up having to get the other two, as well, knowing myself and my OCD'ness about incomplete series.

Soon to be a 4th, since apparently the revival of the series has been popular enough that the new publisher is doing at least up to a 5th book.

I get them in hardcover myself, but they're cheapest at Kobo with discount coupons and Severn House has been pretty good about doing e-editions of Hambly's latest with only a couple of months' delay from the HC release.

Anyway, to make up for making you buy a new book and thereby its entire accompanying series, there were a number of freebie cozy/comedy/amateur sleuth mysteries that came free yesterday. If you frequent the Deals forum, you may have already seen them, but just in case:

June Bug by Jess Loury (1st in Murder-By-Month)[/URL]
I Spy by Kate Johnson (1st in Sophie Green Mysteries)
In the Belly of Jonah and Lot's Return to Sodom by Sandra Brennan (1st and 2nd in Liv Bergen mystery/thrillers)

It does nothing for the state of your TBR mountain, but at least your wallet will be a little happier? Though probably not if you end up picking the rest of those series, as well.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Having already read Ghastly Glass, all I can tell you is beware of insecurity. It abounds in that one...

Yeah, I noticed. I'm wondering if there's some sort of 7 Stages of Romantic Whateverness like there is for grief and such.

So far the star couple has been through

1. Constant Petty Bickering Due to Unresolved Sexual Tension and have moved on to
2. Contrived Misunderstandings That Conveniently Showcase Exactly How Attractive Each Member of the Couple is to the Opposite Sex and Reinforce the Existing Relationship By Resorting to Jealous Clinginess.

Anyway, just finished Jim and Joyce Lavene's 2nd book in what turns out to actually be called the "Renaissance Faire" mysteries, in which once again ex-academic amateur sleuth and craft apprentice Jessie Morton takes on a new craft apprenticeship at the year-round Renfaire tourist village, which is now having its highly out-of-period Hallowe'en season with costumed werewolves and such.

Well, I'm not reading these things for historical accuracy anyway. Or for the relationship drama, either, which leads me to think once the main plot is underway, "Well, no wonder someone's apparently trying to kill you. If I had to stand and watch your repeated snipe-then-smooching all day, then I'd be tempted to make with the stabbity, too!"

And then I remember that I actually am sitting and watching their repeated snipe-then-smooching. And then I wonder exactly how one would go about stabbing fictional characters, if one were so inclined. Probably with one of those fictionalizer book-contents-visiting machines like in Futurama.

Mind you, I think in part it can be chalked up to the fact that the leads clearly have an unequal relationship. After all, one of them is a promising young person with a decent career behind them and a maybe-bright future ahead, and the other is a lawyer named for a merged banking megacorp.

Maybe traditional naming practices in the US mean that the latter is actually a perfectly suitable moniker for loving parents to inflict upon their child, but I know that if I were to spend a season working at the replica Viking tourist village over at L'Anse aux Meadows and happened to meet an attractive person of any gender who was named something similar, like, say, Toronto Dominion, even if he/she/it were an academic redhead, I would be too busy trying to suppress uncontrollable snickering to get anywhere near the smooching stage.

Anyway, aside from the relationship drama and the amateur sleuth's personal issues, which I could have cheerfully skipped, this was an okay book with good glimpses into the craft being ostensibly studied and a decent whodunnit with multiple suspects and a reasonable resolution.

A bit better than the last one, but still some rather ridiculous elements, though a little less over-the-top than last time. And I did like the faux-newsletter of Renaissance-ish activities and customs in the back.

Can't really recommend unless you've got a high tolerance for silliness and really like looking at dysfunctional historical recreation performance projects and the dysfunctional persons who recreate them while projecting their personal issues, but I liked this enough that I'm willing to seek out the next book from the library, even if I personally wouldn't shell more than about $2.50 out of pocket for a copy and only then if I were feeling very generous.